Last nights Million Pound Property Experiment

[John Rumm]

Is it just me or is something not adding up here?

I was under the impression the idea was:

repeat buy a house do it up sell it for a profit take said profit and add original capital until repeated seven times and you flog your 1 million pound house

My quick totting up last night suggested they had to date made just over

60 grand from their previous houses combined. Add the original 100k and use it to purchase a place for 625k.....

Sponsored by dodgy self cert mortgage deals 'R' us by any chance?

Although to be fair to the drama queens, they did do a cracking job of that place - sympathetic to the property and actually targeted at a likely buyer. Would not mind the house myself although the prospect of paying over 800k for a semi does make the mind boggle a bit!

[Chris Oates]

Not much adds up in their programs Get survey done, buy house for half a million, house has dry rot ????

Last week they went for the half a million plus figure completely forgeting that the stamp duty hike at that level would severely limit offers

What about paying 40% capital gains tax ?

[tim]

this is indeed how it was sold to the viewer.

It is (as you have noticed) glaringly obviously not meeting this claim:

Quite why the Beeb even started with the mis-advertising is a mystery as IMHO each individual program is quite instructive in what to do (and not to do) and it stands alone without the fictional claims

tim

[fred]

In article , tim writes

Last night was the first time they mentioned adding 'additional investment' to improve the properties, I've been listening out for that. It is indeed a complete con.

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , John Rumm writes

No doubt at the end of the last programme, they will declare from the rafters, or from a solicitors table, that they have done it!!

If somebody came into my office and danced on my expensive board room table, (if I had one), I would chuck them out!

The programme is a joke, and actually misleadingly encourages people to think they can do something which they can't.

[Mungo Henning]

807K for a semi with a derelict "other half" whose owner said he would do something about the dry rot? Whatever the polish on the place, if next door is a dump would you be happy to stay there?

I wonder if the 480K purchase price (or thereabouts) was reasonable though - at the asking price of 340K (or so) with all the work that was needed you'd think you could buy it cheaper. Hey, but what do I know? In fact, beyond dressing a room, what do the boys know?

Still, it is entertaining telly, watching how the 'easy money' is not that easy.

Mungo

[Mike Mitchell]

The Independent reported yesterday that the Inland Revenue is taking a very keen interest in the £500K sale, plus the ten grand for "fixtures and fittings". I began to get turned off from these two after the first programme. Last night, when Justin walked up and down on top of the Scottish solicitor's nicely polished table, I thought, what a complete prat.

Why couldn't they have bought a number of terraced houses in need of work for around £70K each (plenty around the country), spent £10K doing each one up, then sold for £90K? They would be able to churn the houses out like a sausage machine after a while.

But that would not be "good TV", I suppose. Actually, I am now of the opinion that the series was a waste of time.

MM

[Mark S.]

So is the BBC giving them the money for each house?

And why not cut out the previous 73 houses - they'd have made more money for a damn site less work with just the one. ;-)

Mark S.

[Graeme]

I think they have so far made £171,000 Profit

And have had 'funds' of £422,000

[The Natural Philosopher]

Actually, I think it aptly demonstrates that it takes more than a couple

of hairdressers to make ANYTHING from property improvement.

Their profit would not actually cover rheir living expenses so far..

[The Natural Philosopher]

The money program on radio 4 said that yu can get away with it if its reasonable.

I began to get turned off from these two after the

Its amusing tho.

[Chris Oates]

Which it obviously wasn't as they conspired to defraud as soon as they were told that the stamp duty hike at 500k existed. They told the viewers exactly what they were doing !

[geoff]

The attraction of the program is that you want to see them fail big time

Unfortunately, if they had done so, it wouldn't have gone out would it

[Chris Oates]

Unless the BBC bailed them out big time and took care of the listed building fiasco.

I still wan't to know why they are not paying capital gains tax on 'non main residences'

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , geoff writes

I would actually like to see them do it for real.

[John Rumm]

With last nights addin 100k plus - that sounds about right.....

Which begs the question - if you have that sort of slush fund then why not forget doing the 100k terrace - wade straight in on something big enough to be able to return a decent profit like last nights.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I am sure that they are. But that happens towards the end of the year following the year in which profits are made.

Such profits as there may be.

Lets face it, they are being bankrolled big time, and the Beeb will get whatever profits accrue to get back what they spend. Each step up in propery - if you were doing it for real - would justify a slightly larger loan to do it. Of course the interest on such would be deducted from the profit...

It's about as one finds. Making money out of property development is a big gamble and a fine balance between being a paste over it cowboy, and a proper stucturally aware builder.

You have to be autely aware of what adds a perceived premum value to aproperty, and what is expensive, nice, but doesn't get a potential purchaser reaching for the cheque book.

[Suz]

I reckon because of the length of time to offload some of the houses that it would have taken around 4 years to do it. They have been doing other crap morning DIY makeover shows/ spots for the 2 years previous to this, so I doubt they were doing this show then.

Suzanne

[MH]

"....has been widely criticised in the press because the state of the property market has meant the pair have needed new injections of cash from the BBC."

MH.

[fred]

In article , Chris Oates writes

Owned by a business so no tax on profits until end of a financial year?; with tax payable 8mths later.